


And I Think I Love You

by MissLuthorsHizzie



Category: Grey's Anatomy
Genre: Children, F/F, Friends to Lovers, Happy Jo, Living Together, Mutual Pining, Nervous Meredith, Parent-Teacher Conference, Season 16 Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:27:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23373139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissLuthorsHizzie/pseuds/MissLuthorsHizzie
Summary: When Jo tags along to Meredith's parent-teacher conference at Ellis' school and they are mistaken for a couple, what feelings and realizations will ensue for the two surgeons who have been slowly growing closer over time?*Not related to "A Grey and A Wilson"
Relationships: Meredith Grey/Jo Wilson Karev
Comments: 8
Kudos: 60





	And I Think I Love You

**Author's Note:**

> Hello again! I’ve had this idea stuck in my head for the past couple days and all the comments on my last MerJo fanfic really motivated me to write some more for this pairing, so here it goes! Hope you enjoy it and please comment! Also, all the medical trial stuff I wrote is absolute nonsense and random things I've heard from the show, so please ignore the nonsensical medical talk. Sadly, I am not a doctor.

A year and a half after Alex left, Jo was finally feeling like she had a new home and a healed heart. For a few months Levi and her had shared her apartment, but, after a while, it began to feel claustrophobic. Every corner of the apartment had had some memory of Alex attached to it, his leaving a constant reminder to her. It wasn’t until four months later that Meredith invited Jo to come live with her.

Amelia was living with Link, so the house had an extra room, ready to be filled by Jo Wilson. Honestly, Jo loved being back in the house she used to live in. Even though Alex and her had lived there for a while, the house screamed Meredith and family and warmth.

Now, Jo had been living in Meredith’s house for a little over a year and could call this place her home. Maggie had moved in with a fireman she was dating, so now it was just Meredith, Jo, and the kids, who Jo loved to play with and babysit whenever Meredith couldn’t. Meredith and Jo had also started a new project together on detecting cancerous cells early, reliving their mini liver days. The advantage of living together was that they could spend time not only during the day and during their rounds to work on the trial, but they could also work on it at home.

This was how, on one particular Thursday, Jo decided to tag along to Meredith’s parent-teacher conference at Ellis’ kindergarten class. They had been in the middle of a big discovery when Meredith realized she needed to leave if she wanted to be on time and Jo thought it would be more efficient if they continued their theorizing on the way to the school. 

As they walked down the kindergarten hallway, adults milling around waiting to see the teachers, Meredith and Jo continued talking about their trial.

“What if we use the tech Webber used and reverse the process of-” Jo started before Meredith frowned and interrupted.

“No, we can’t reverse the process of the technology. What if we use the samples of cancer cells we have with the pen to see how to use it noninvasively? I know Robbins did some research on this a couple years ago, plus Richard’s old experiments-” 

“That could work!” Jo exclaimed excitedly as they entered the classroom. Her hazel eyes were bright as her brain ran circles around the idea. “We just need to ask Webber if-”

Suddenly a woman with short brown hair and a kind face walked up to them, looking at Meredith expectantly with dark eyes. “Hello, are you Dr. Grey? Ellis’ mother?” The woman was Ellis’ teacher, Mrs. Green, a person Ellis was always raving about when Meredith or Jo picked the girl up afterschool. Ellis, along with Zola and Bailey, were currently at Amelia and Link’s house, probably playing with their new baby cousin. 

Meredith smiled at Mrs. Green and Jo couldn’t help but stare as the surgeon’s face brightened with the simple look, that bright, open look so rare yet beautiful. Her blonde hair caught the light, her sea-green eyes crinkled from the wide smile, and-

_ Stop that!  _ Jo shook the thoughts from her head instantly, something she had caught herself doing many times throughout this past year with the blonde.

Meredith’s raspy yet sweet voice interrupted Jo’s self-patronizing thoughts. “Yes, I’m Dr. Grey, Ellis’ mom. It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Green. This is Dr. Wilson-” The teacher’s eyes suddenly turned to Jo upon Meredith’s introduction, her smile even bigger and brighter.

“Dr. Wilson! You must be Ellis’ other mom.” 

It took a second for the teacher’s words to process in Jo’s mind. When they finally did, Jo’s hazel eyes widened and Meredith’s own shocked face was immediately ready to speak up when Mrs. Green continued.

“Don’t worry, we have a lot of students with same-sex parents.” The woman offered an accepting smile before continuing. “Ellis talks about the two of you all the time. She’s always bragging about how her mom is a surgeon and saves lives and that her Momma Jo helps you and is super smart. She adores you two.” The words were meant to calm them, but Jo’s mind went blank at the words.

Momma Jo. Ellis called her Momma Jo. A blush settled on Jo’s cheeks as she thought about how that name sounded. Yeah, Jo was constantly around Meredith’s kids and had really bonded with them over her time living in the house (I mean, how could she  _ not?  _ They were adorable!), but she never thought Ellis would call her Momma Jo. 

“You two make such a beautiful couple.” Mrs. Green said as she sat back in her desk, waiting for the two women to sit in the chairs in front of her.

“Actually-” Jo started, ready to correct the teacher’s mistake so Meredith wouldn’t feel uncomfortable in the situation. However, before she could continue, Meredith was already talking.

“Thank you, we’re so happy to hear Ellis is comfortable in the class.” Jo turned her head to look at Meredith alarmingly and found the blonde woman sending her back a look to play along. Jo just shrugged and painted a smile across her face. However, if Jo was being honest with herself, bringing a smile to her face wasn’t that hard.

  
  


The next night, Meredith was home hanging out with Zola, Ellis and Bailey playing in their rooms. Jo was still at the hospital keeping an eye on one of her patients who had come into the ER with second-degree burns and internal bleeding and had been in unstable condition the whole day. 

Zola was currently doing her sixth grade homework while they watched food network together, Meredith drinking a glass of wine and contemplating whether she should bring up the topic that had been nagging at her since the parent-teacher conference the day before.

“Hey, Zola,” Meredith waited for her daughter to look at her to continue talking. “So Jo and I went to Ellis’ parent-teacher conference yesterday and she told us that Ellis calls her ‘Momma Jo?’ Do you know why?”

Zola laughed a little and Meredith listened as Zola smiled cheekily and explained. “After Jo moved in, we all just kinda bonded with her and she’s like another parent to us. Ellis started calling her that and the name just stuck with Bailey and me, too.”

Meredith raised an eyebrow at her daughter. “Well, why didn’t you call her Aunty Jo like Maggie and Amelia?”

In response, Zola just shrugged. “I don’t know. You and Jo are different. You’re always staring at each other and seem to be a lot closer. And Ellis never knew dad, so Jo is like the first person who’s been like a real second parent to her.”

Meredith always thought about the fact that Ellis never met Derek, never had a father figure, or just another parental figure in her life. Yeah, the kids had Maggie and Amelia, but they were their aunts. But Jo...Meredith didn’t really know how to characterize her relationship to her kids.

“Does it bother you?” Zola suddenly asked, her eyes filled with worry, but Meredith quickly shook her head.

“No! No, of course not. I just...I’ve never heard you guys call Jo that and she seemed surprised, too, so…”

Zola shrugged once again and turned back to her homework, trying to figure out the advanced math problems on the paper. Meredith thought that was the end of the subject until Zola spoke up once again. “Also, like I said before, you guys act like a couple. You’re always around each other and you talk differently to each other. Not like with Aunt Amelia and Aunt Maggie or even Uncle Alex. I thought you guys were dating for a while but kinda gave up on the theory after Jo went on that one date.” 

Meredith remembered that date. A handsome nurse from ortho had asked Jo out, who, although reluctant, said yes since she figured it was time to put herself out there again. She didn’t know why, but when she thought about that date, Meredith’s stomach twisted uncomfortably. She only hoped Zola didn’t notice her obvious discomfort over the subject as she turned back to the food network, trying to drown the negative thoughts that had just filtered into her mind once again through watching people fail at cooking on TV.

About an hour later, Ellis and Bailey had migrated into the living room, Bailey playing with legos next to Zola and Ellis sitting on Meredith’s lap. Meredith was still watching TV, her mind reeling from all the thoughts that had been in her head the past two days when suddenly the front door opened. They all turned to see Jo coming through the door, looking exhausted with droopy hazel eyes and a slight curve to her shoulders. Meredith still thought the woman looked incredibly beautiful, though, with her pink cheeks, adorable nose, and chestnut waves flowing down her slender figure-

_ Stop!  _ Meredith immediately yelled at herself. Why were these thoughts so suddenly obvious in her head? Had she always seen Jo this way? A person had to be blind to think Jo wasn’t extremely beautiful, but since when did Meredith get flustered and nervous looking at the woman?

“Hey, guys, I’m home!” Despite her long day and obvious exhaustion, Jo had the brightest smile on her face upon seeing Meredith and the kids. Ellie’s face, however, was no match for Jo’s smile. The girl was practically vibrating with new energy upon seeing the doctor in the doorway.

“Jo!” Ellis practically tackled Jo, if a five year old could do that since she really only went up to Jo’s thigh, but the doctor just laughed and picked Ellis up with ease. Meredith couldn’t help but stare as Jo held Ellis in her arms, the little blonde child squealing and talking animatedly about her day. The more she thought about it, the more Meredith wondered when exactly this had become normal. 

Sure, the kids had sort of known Jo from when she was dating their Uncle Alex and when Jo had first moved in the kids were nice, but they had also been unsure about her. How and when did they get to this stage? Where the kids waited anxiously on the couch for Jo to come back from work. Where Ellis ran and jumped into Jo’s arms and called her Momma Jo to her friends. Where Jo made Zola breakfast on weekends cause they were the only two people in the house that woke up early. Where Jo read the kids stories at night and sang Bailey lullabies and dressed up with them on Halloween. Where Meredith felt an unnerving flutter in her chest when the woman was even nearby. How had this happened?

“Mer? You ok?” Jo’s head was tilted and her eyebrows were scrunched together, concern deep in her hazel eyes. God, those eyes.

“Oh, of course. Yup. Perfectly fine.” And now she was rambling, to which Jo smirked at, sending a thrill through the blonde’s body. Meredith hadn’t even noticed she had spaced out before and was about to space out once again just staring at Jo’s eyes until Ellis squealed once again in Jo’s arms. 

“Jo! Jo! I drew a picture for you! Wanna see?” The girl’s adorable face was so bright and excited that Jo found it impossible to say no. She herself often wondered how her and Meredith’s kids, especially Ellis, had bonded so much over this past year. Ellis was practically joined at Jo’s hip at all times and Meredith always teased that Jo was the five year olds role model and favorite person.

Jo grinned and set the girl down carefully. She was growing up so fast and Jo wasn’t sure how much longer she’d be able to carry her. “Of course. Let’s go see it!” Jo felt the exhaustion and terribleness of that day fall behind her as she followed the jumping girl to Ellis’ bedroom, which was covered in toys and crayons and stuffed animals. 

The doctor had had a crappy day. Not only had she barely seen Meredith, which was a rare occurrence, but Helm and Levi had kept teasing her about her relationship to the beautiful, blonde surgeon and, to top it off, her patient from the ER had died just an hour and a half ago and Jo had been the one to have to tell the family. The worst part was when the man’s young daughter, who was blonde and very little, had stared up at Jo with a face that reminded her so much of Ellis. So, yeah, her day had been shitty. 

“Here it is!” Ellis’ loud voice interrupted her negative thoughts and Jo looked to find the little girl holding up a drawing in crayon.

And then tears were forming in her eyes from a very different emotion than before.

The drawing was messy and barely distinguishable but from what Jo could see, Ellis had drawn Meredith, Jo, Zola, Bailey, and herself. Above Jo’s head (which was covered in brown crayon hair and apparently red skin) was an arrow and two words: Momma Jo. Yup, Jo was definitely crying now.

“Oh, Ellie-” Jo started, her words choking in her throat. She turned to see the girl’s expectant green eyes just like her mother’s looking at her while she wiped her little freckled nose against her pajama sleeve. 

“Do you like it?”

“I love this! This,” Jo said, trying to throw as much pride and happiness into her voice as she could, “deserves to go on the fridge.” The little girl practically squealed as she followed Jo to the kitchen to put up the drawing.

  
  
  


It was four in the morning when Meredith felt someone anxiously shaking her awake. Who the fuck was trying to wake her up? And at four AM?! Meredith groaned and turned to face the person, slowly opening her eyes to see who was standing by her bed.

She was expecting Zola with some emergency or Bailey with a nightmare, but instead her eyes landed on Jo Wilson, her eyes extra wide from caffeine and wearing only a tank top and booty shorts. Oh, dear God. 

“Jo!” Meredith whisper-shouted, not wanting to wake up the kids down the hall. “What are you doing? I need my sleep!”

Jo looked impatiently at Meredith, practically bouncing where she stood. The woman’s excitement was pouring off of her in waves and Meredith sat up in bed to see what exactly the woman wanted.

“I figured it out. How to use the polymer and the tech.” Jo spoke in way too high a pitch and her face immediately looked apologetic. “Sorry I’ve been up all night and I drank five cups of coffee!”

Meredith suddenly felt wide awake, her own eyes as wide as saucers. Was this a dream? Did an extremely hyper Jo Wilson just wake her up at four in the morning to tell her she had solved the biggest problem in their whole project? Was this a dream?

“Am I dreaming right now?” Meredith narrowed her eyes at the woman before her who vigorously shook her head.

“No, Mer, I figured it out!” Jo then descended into a whole speech about polymers and tech and cancerous cells that Meredith was trying her hardest to keep up with, but, honestly, Jo was speaking 100 miles a minute and Meredith was extremely tired.

When Jo finished her very long, rushed explanation, Meredith finally realized this wasn’t a dream and jumped out of the bed, not caring that she only had on a t-shirt and underwear. Jo had just solved their whole fucking experiment! 

“Oh my god!” Meredith screamed, forgetting about the kids sleeping just down the hall.

“I know! I can’t believe we didn’t think of it earlier!” Jo started jumping around and Meredith followed in her lead. They were excited and hyper and Meredith let all control go as she celebrated with Jo and jumped and danced, reminding her of her old days with Cristina. This breakthrough was they had been working so hard for these past few months. Jo Wilson was absolutely brilliant and beautiful and intelligent and-

Suddenly, Jo’s lips were on Meredith’s in a quick kiss fueled by excitement and caffeine and way too much energy. Jo didn’t even seem to realize what she did for a few seconds as she continued jumping and talking animatedly. However, when she saw Meredith’s frozen demeanor and wide eyes, she came back to Earth.

“Oh my god.” was all Jo could say as she stared at Meredith. She had just kissed Meredith Grey, something that had been infesting her brain for what like forever. But it wasn’t a first kiss full of passion and tongue and teeth. It was a peck. It was a quick kiss that came from excitement and hyperactive feelings, just like the one she had given Arizona on her wedding day. “I am so sorry.”

Meredith snapped out of her stupor at Jo’s words and if Jo didn’t know any better, she would say the blonde was suddenly flustered and blushing. Meredith fiddled with her fingers and slowly backed away from Jo. “Don’t worry about it. Ok. Cool. I’ll-I’ll go back to sleep. We can talk about this later today.” 

Jo saw this as Meredith’s awkward way of telling Jo to leave so Jo did, her heart hammering in her chest and brain filling with all these doubts and worries and  _ Meredith.  _ Once Jo left and walked into her own room again, she collapsed against her door and replayed everything that had just happened in her head. She had just kissed Meredith Grey. Meredith Grey, the surgeon, the legend, the woman she had been crushing on for a  _ long  _ time. Also Jo had solved their whole project. Jo knew which one was the one that made her more excited and filled with butterflies.

  
  
  


Jo couldn’t think straight all day. Well, she never really thought  _ straight  _ around Meredith Grey. The beautiful woman had plagued her thoughts ever since she had moved into her house. When she first saw Meredith walking around the house in a tank top and pajama pants, her smooth, freckled skin on display and her blonde hair falling down her back in short waves. That was when she had first realized how beautiful Meredith really was.

Of course, after that her mind and heart just had to betray her and make her fall for her roommate. And it didn’t help that she was an amazing mother, a brilliant surgeon, a medical legend, and had three adorable children that showered Jo with love. Yup, to say Jo was falling for the surgeon was an understatement. She knew that the speeding up of her heart and the butterflies whenever Meredith neared was pure, undeniable love. After Paul’s abuse and Alex’s leaving, Jo had thought she would never be able to love anyone again. But she was wrong. Meredith Grey, a woman that had been by her side since her first day at Grey-Sloan, was all Jo needed to prove she could love again.

So Jo went through her rounds and a surgery just thinking about that accidental kiss. She had kissed Meredith Grey without really meaning to and she hadn’t seen the woman since, seeing as how Jo had left directly after the incident to the hospital to get some space to think.

Jo had been successful with getting some space to really think about what she’d done up until about 2 pm. Jo had just left the ER after looking unsuccessfully for a surgical case to distract her mind when she heard a familiar raspy voice calling her name.

“Jo! Wait!” Jo knew Meredith had seen her and she couldn’t exactly run anywhere without being obvious, so she reluctantly turned around and came face-to-face with the Head of General Surgery. Her green eyes were piercing and her hair was loose around her white coat. However, she looked distracted and slightly anxious. Jo tried to focus on the freckles on Meredith’s face, knowing that if she looked into her eyes she’d be gone. “Can we talk? About the project?”

Jo felt relief flood her body and she quickly nodded, walking back to their lab with Meredith. The woman didn’t want to talk about the kiss thankfully. However, a heavy silence fell between the two women as they walked and Jo felt panic seep into her bones once again. She had definitely ruined their friendship. Jo had kissed her and now Meredith was uncomfortable and would probably kick her out of her house. Jo wouldn’t be able to see the kids or work on this project probably and-

“Jo!” Jo’s head snapped up and she realized they were already standing in the middle of their lab, a smirk on Meredith’s face. “You spaced out there. You ok?” 

“Oh, ummm, of course. Yeah.” Jo cleared her throat, trying to clear her thoughts as well. “So the project. I was thinking maybe we could test the tech first with the new polymer and get some rats in here. We can even name them again and…”

Jo trailed off as she saw Meredith just giving her an amused look.

“What?”

“Oh, nothing.” Meredith said, her voice light and bubbly, unlike her usual tone of frustration, exhaustion, or annoyance with dumb interns. “It’s just...you solved it. You did it.” There was pride and...something else in Meredith’s voice and Jo felt her chest swelling up with her own emotions.

She turned to look away from the blonde, trying to gather her thoughts. Meredith, not knowing what came over her, surged forward to plant a small kiss on Jo’s cheek; however, the moment her lips were about to connect with Jo’s skin, the brunette turned her head without realizing what was happening and their lips were suddenly connected for the second time that day.

But this time, it wasn’t quick. It wasn’t a peck. At first, Meredith and Jo were both shocked and panicked, their lips still connected awkwardly. However, after a few seconds, they both seemed to realize that the kiss was actually good and soon enough Jo was running her hands through soft blonde hair and Meredith’s had moved down to Jo’s hips, pulling the woman closer to her. The kiss was passionate and electric and everything Jo and Meredith had hoped for. It was a clash of teeth and tongues and soft skin and soft lips. Jo practically melted under Meredith’s roaming hands, feeling their warmth through her white coat and deep into her skin. 

A minute later, out of breath, Meredith pulled away. She was panting and her face was less than an inch from Jo’s. Jo stared at her with bright hazel eyes and Meredith stared back with wonder and happiness.

“That was…” Meredith started, not finding the right words. She wasn’t much of a sap and everything sounded so cheesy in her head.

“Amazing.” Jo said and before she could stop herself, she added, “And I think I love you.”

Meredith’s words got stuck in her throat for a second, seeing so many authentic emotions in the brunette’s eyes. Jo had just said...Meredith had said I love you to DeLuca but her feelings towards Jo definitely trumped that relationship.

“And I think I love you, too.” Meredith admitted, her raspy voice soft and so unlike herself. If Cristina were here, she would totally be making fun of Meredith right now. Meredith was supposed to be dark and twisty, not sappy and smiley. But, Jo made her want to be sappy and smiley. At least, made her want to  _ try _ to be sappy and smiley.

Jo’s smile was dazzling in that moment and it definitely shined brighter than anything Meredith had ever laid eyes on. “So…” Jo started. “The kids probably know, right? I mean, they do call me Momma Jo.”

Meredith chuckled as she thought of her conversation with Zola the previous night. “Oh, they definitely know. I’m pretty sure even before us.”

Jo nodded, already imagining Ellis calling her Momma Jo to her face, warmth flooding her chest at the thought. “So, how about we figure out how to actually execute my genius solution to our project.”

“I think that’s a great plan.” And in that moment, despite everything both women had been through, despite the death and abandonment and depressions and brokenness, both women smiled and continued on, looking forward to the future ahead of them.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this short fanfic, I had a lot of fun writing it! This pairing is new to me and, seeing how there's very little content for MerJo, I wanted to try my hand again at writing a second fanfic for them. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed reading this story, and if you did please check out my other MerJo fanfic, "A Grey and a Wilson." Please leave kudos or comments, I appreciate everything you all have to say!


End file.
